Just as you wouldn’t want to go into a shop filled with clutter, or dine in a restaurant with dirty dishes and glasses littered all over the table, visitors to your site won’t want to stay for very long if your website looks visually unappealing – regardless of what you have to offer.
Considering that the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab has reported that 46% of site visitors state that a website’s design is the deciding factor in the credibility of the company, having a strong web design is paramount.
However, you don’t need to be a top-notch graphic designer to create an aesthetic and visually appealing website. Nowadays there are many great website builders out there for you to use, which offer ready to go websites for a minimal fee. Go Sitebuilder is a superb website builder to use if you want to give your website the best chance and by following our simple tips, you can create a stunning, sleek website which will wow visitors and most importantly keep them on your site.
Design and colour
Whether rebuilding your website or simply revamping your current style, it’s important to match your colour scheme with the service that you’re offering. Whilst this sounds slightly abstract, colour actually plays an important part in evoking certain feelings when people visit your site.
Say, for example, you’re offering your yoga services online: pale, delicate colours are likely to inspire calming feelings within the site user. Or if your online business is more corporate, then it might be wise to use sleek, strong colours, demonstrating that you’re serious about providing a quality service to the user.
Whilst it is important to have good content, this must be displayed clearly so that visitors to your site want to click onto different pages. By having a visually appealing design and colour scheme, you can capture your audience’s attention and draw them to the things you want them to see. According to 3M, we process visuals 60,000 times faster than text: a website with a clean layout will help you get your message across swiftly to the site user.
Pictures and graphics
The cliché ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ is a cliché for reason, and in the world of web design, it couldn’t ring truer. Considering that most people click off a website after 15 seconds, using images is a great way to capture their interest, ensuring that they want to stay on and explore the services that you offer. By using images and infographics that show what you can do for the site user, you are visually advertising your skills, rather than just describing what you do in a few sentences.
The type of imagery that you want to use is completely your choice: you could decide to upload stock photos for a professional finish, or post your own images to add some individuality to your site. Modern technology means that you don’t even need a professional photographer to share your own pictures – most smartphones have a quality camera, meaning you can snap images that you feel might add to the overall design of your website anywhere, and at any time. For infographics, sites like Canva and Venngage offer free templates that you can personalise to your company’s services.
Usability
It’s key for people to be able to easily navigate their way around your website, and find all the important information that they need to know without any hassle. You can achieve this easily: make sure your headers are clear, your contact details are well labelled, your logo is strong, and you’ve written a concise but informational piece about your services. Also, any images that you upload must be well placed to compliment the visuals of your website.
Although it seems like a lot needs to go on the homepage of your website, it is vital that your layout isn’t cluttered – according to Network for Good, a not-for-profit organisation, a website “Must be attractive, captivating, but uncluttered”. With web design, less is definitely more: not only does a clear finish add to the visuals of your website, but it also ensures that your website is easy to use, and visitors can take in everything they need to know within minutes.
Where to start
Don’t let designing a website daunt you: at Go Sitebuilder we offer stunning web designs, which you can easily tweak to achieve a look unique to your business. Our website builder is incredibly easy to use, as you can make changes to your website anywhere, and on any device, making it one of the best website builders within the UK. Our 14-day free trial gives you all the flexibility you need to create the perfect website for you.